Wire-cutter.



G. D. JAMES.

WIRE CUTTER.

APPLICATION man NOV. 28. I914.

LEQKGM Patented July 20, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

G. D. JAMES.

WIRE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.28, 1914.

Patented July 2(), H11

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

TTEU %TATE FATE @FQE.

WIRE-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20, 1915..

Application filed November 28, 1914. Serial No. 874,489.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Gnonon D. JAMES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Frances, in the county of Pacific and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-Cutters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to wire cutters and the primary object of the invention isthe provision of a wire cutter for attachment to the barrel supporting section of a rifle stock for use by soldiers for cutting wires which might impede'their forward marching or advance.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wire cutter as specified which has the hand grip portion of the operating lever insulated, and also suitable insulations associated therewith for insulating the cutter from the barrel of the gun so as to prevent the electrocution of the person carrying the gun when cutting charged electric wires.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view this invention consists in such novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of the im proved wire cutter, showing the same applied to an ordinary military rifle, Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the wire cutter. showing a fragment of the rifle to which the same is attached, Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the wire cutter, Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevation of the wire cutter, showing the same in an open position prior to the cutting of a wire, Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view on the line 66 of Fig. 2, Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view of a part of the construction of'the wire cutter, Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the cutting or shearing knife of the wire cutter, and Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view on the line 99 of Fig. 8.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates an ordinary military rifle, which has the forwardly projecting barrel supporting section 2 formed thereupon, which barrel supporting section is formed of wood, as is ordinary in the construction of rifles of this nature.

The barrel supporting stock 2 of the rifle 1 is provided with a recess 3 formed in the under surface thereof, which is provided for receiving a handle or operating lever 5 of the wire cutting stretcher 6. The handle lever 5 is substantially semi-circular in cross section, as is clearly shown by reference to Fig. 7 of the drawing, so as to fit snugly within the recess 3 and so as to conform to the curvature of the under surface of the narrel support 2. The handle lever 5 is pivotally connected at 7 to a substantially U- shaped bracket 8 which has its upper connected end mounted upon the upper surface of the barrel 9 of the rifle and extending downwardly therefrom, as is clearly shown by reference to the drawings. The U- shaped supporting bracket 8 is insulated from the gun barrel by a plate of insulation 10. The hand lever 5 has a projection 11 formed upon its forward or outer terminal end. which is of reduced width to the width of the hand lever and is pivotally connected at 12 to a link 13. The link 13 is in turn pivotally connected at 14 to the shear or cutting lever 15 of the wire cutter 6. The shear or cutting lever 15 is pivotally connected at 16 to the gun barrel supporting section 2 and it has its end 17 which projects out wardly toward the end of the gun barrel from a pivotal point 16 provided with a cutting or shearing edge 18 which coacts with a shearing or cutting edge 19 formed upon a stationary cutting blade 20.

The stationary cutting or shearing blade 20 is substantially U-shaped in cross section and is beaded in a recess 21 which is formed in the barrel supporting stock The shearing or cutting edge 19 is formed upon one side of a supporting structure :20 and projects tangentially therefrom, having its outer surface positioned substantially in a vertical plane and parallel with the inner surface of the cutting end 17 of the blade 15, so that when the two blades pass each other. a shearing or cutting action will be generated for cutting wire or analogous material. The substantially U-shapcd shearing or cutting blade 20 is connected in a stationary manner to the rifle structure 1 by a. strap 22 which extends about the rifle bar rel 9 and the barrel supporting stock 2 and is insulated therefrom by a plate 23 of insulation.

The extreme inner end or the end which projects toward the gun stock 25,of the handle 5, is constructed of insulation, such as hard rubber, glass or the like, as shown at 26, so as to prevent the electrocution of the operator of-the wire cutter when cutting electrically charged conducting wires.

The barrel supporting stock 2 has a catch 40 slidably mounted therein, which is provided for engaging the outer surface of the end of the lever 5, for preventing accidental pivotal movement of this lever.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings the advantages of construction and of the method of operation of the improved wire cutters will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains and, while in the foregoing description, the principle of the operation of this invention has been described together with various features of construction, it is to be understood that certain minor features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be altered to suit practical conditions provided such alterations are comprehended within the scope of what is claimed.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with an ordinary rifle embodying aforwardly extending barrel supporting stock, said stock being provided waves];

said barrel supporting stock for seating in said recess, a shearing blade pivotally connected to said barrel supporting stock, a link connecting said shearing knife and said hand lever for increasing the leverageof said handle and said shearing blade upon pivotal movement of said handle, a substantially U-shaped stationary shearing blade supported by the barrel supporting stock and having a cutting blade projecting tangentially therefrom for coacting with said pivoted shearing blade.

2. The combination with an ordinary rifle embodying a forwardly extending barrel supporting stock, said stock being provided said barrel supporting stock for seating in.60

said recess, a shearing blade pivotally connected to said barrel supporting stock, a link connecting said shearing knife and said hand lever for increasing the leverage of said handle and said shearing blade upon pivotal movement of said handle, a substantially U-shaped stationary shearing blade supported by the barrel supporting stock 7 and having a cutting blade projecting tangentially therefrom for coacting with said pivoted shearing blade, said hand lever and said shearing blade being insulated from the barrel of said rifle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. JAMES.

Witnesses:

TiM WARREN, J. E. FLETCHER. 

